Smoking, health behavior, and values: a replication, refinement, and extension.

Area of Science:

• Health Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Smoking remains a significant public health concern.
• Understanding the psychological factors influencing smoking behavior is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between values and health behaviors in female undergraduates.
• To explore differences in values between smokers and nonsmokers, particularly concerning health, broadmindedness, and independence.

Main Methods:

• 181 female undergraduates completed the Rokeach instrumental and terminal value surveys.
• Participants also completed measures of general preventive health behavior and social desirability.
• Analyses compared value priorities and health behaviors between smokers and nonsmokers.

Main Results:

• Nonsmokers reported better general and direct-risk health behaviors than smokers.
• Smokers, unlike nonsmokers, did not differ in the value of 'health' but prioritized 'broadmindedness', 'freedom', and 'independence'.
• For smokers, a higher value on 'broadmindedness' correlated with poorer general and direct-risk health behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Value differences, particularly the emphasis on broadmindedness, may contribute to smoking behavior.
• Interventions aimed at reducing the value of broadmindedness could potentially decrease smoking and improve overall preventive health behaviors.